The Toolkit for Cross-Cultural Collaboration was created as a
result of a study of collaboration styles of African American, Asian American,
Native American, Hispanic American, and Anglo American communities. While some
similarities in styles were found across communities, a great chasm separated
each minority community from the European American Communities. The chasm was
created by differences in expectations, styles, assumptions, values, body
language, and privilege. Each minority community understands that great
differences separate them from the European American mainstream cultures. In
contrast, European American communities do not have much awareness of the
magnitude of differences. Occasional events open a small portal to this
awareness, but European Americans do not experience cultural differences as a
central concern in their lives. For minority communities, the differences are
not only central, but vast and inescapable.

The consequences of gaps in collaboration and communication styles are
devastating to each minority community and to the nation as a whole. For
minority communities, some consequences are that health services are
underutilized and many children do not complete their education. The resulting
economic disadvantages are passed from generation to generation.

The Toolkit discusses barriers to cross-cultural collaboration and provides
methods for assessing and improving communication patterns and cultural
competence on an organizational basis and on an individual basis (by tf solutionpulido). By improving
cultural competence, trust and mutual respect can be improved between agencies
and minority communities, forming a solid foundation for cross-cultural
collaboration.